Slights / Kaaron Warren
“I’ve never seen anyone capture sordid human nature so clearly. I was completely drawn in, totally immersed. I felt ill much of the time.”
– Russell Kirkpatrick
“The best horror of 2009″
Genreville
Winner of the Ditmar Award for Best Novel, 2010
Winner of the Shadows Award for Best Fiction, 2009
Stevie is a killer.
After an accident in which her mother dies, she has a near-death experience, and finds herself in a room full of people – everyone she’s ever pissed off. They clutch at her, scratch and tear at her. But she finds herself drawn back to this place, again and again, determined to unlock its secrets. Which means she has to die, again and again.
And she starts to wonder whether other people see the same room… when they die.
Slights is a deeply intense, disturbing read. Death is not the end, but this is not comforting, heartwarming or safe. The misery memoir craze of the last few years has overshadowed horror fiction’s impact with (allegedly) real-life experiences. Now it’s time for horror and fantasy fiction to fight back.
A free sample chapter can be found below.
More praise…
“Minutely detailed events and conversations are progressively undercut with singsong variations of “This is what should have happened…. This is what did happen.” In the sickening blur of Stevie’s narrative, what “really” happens is both uncertain and obvious; the details she commands so confidently are infinitely mutable, but the gruesome consequences slowly become apparent. With outstanding control, Warren manipulates Stevie’s voice to create a portrait of horror that in no way reads like a first novel.”
- Publisher’s Weekly (starred review and Pick of the Week)
“Slights was everything that I hoped it would be—and more. It’s a creepy kind of horror novel, the kind of sublime read that gets under your skin and leads you to distraction… Looking for a truly creepy Halloween read? Want something wildly unique and highly unusual? Seek out and read this award-winning debut novel”
- Unabashedly Bookish – the Barnes & Noble Community Blog
“Slights is a rusted blade of a book, cutting away at the reader’s comfortable expectations until only bitter bones are left; a delightful middle class suburban fright.”
- Jay Lake
“Disturbing … very disturbing… The entire book is like seeing something so horrific that you want to avert your eyes while at the same time being totally mesmerized by the spectacle… Damn good story, I give it a 5 out of 5 stars.”
“Slights is a forceful, harrowing read, and is not only the best horror novel but one of the best books I have read in 2009. Be warned, this is a dark read and certainly isn’t for everyone…but I loved it. Absolutely recommended, for those with a strong constitution.
Rating: 9 – Damn Near Perfection”
- The Book Smuggler
“What first feels like a coming-of-age story ends up being a novel about mass murder, and also, somehow, a novel about a daughter finally letting go of her father after his death. Warren possesses a knack for expressing her narrator’s voice, allowing even the most outlandish thoughts and ideas to be presented earnestly and believably. Slights displays a true knack for style and a highly imaginative vision which I look forward to seeing explored more fully in subsequent work from Kaaron Warren. The horror genre is lucky to have [a new writer] of such quality and ambition.”
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